Ry Cooder’s Election Special, due out August 21, is a wake-up call as the US heads into the 2012 fall election season. "'Wasting Away in Margaritaville' was a good song in its day," says Cooder, "but we need a different kind of a song now if we’re going to make headway against the likes of Charlie and Dave." On Election Special, which he produced, Cooder plays mandolin, guitar, and bass and wrote all of the songs, co-writing one with Joachim Cooder, who plays drums on the record. Stay tuned for an exclusive Nonesuch Store pre-order offer to come.

In recent months, British singer/songwriter/guitarist Lianne La Havas emerged as one of the UK’s most buzzed-about new talents, with critically acclaimed EPs, sold-out shows worldwide and nods from the likes of Bon Iver and Ryan Adams. La Havas’ debut album, Is Your Love Big Enough?, will be released in the US on August 7 via Nonesuch Records. The album was recorded in Brooklyn and Los Angeles last summer and produced by Matt Hales (Aqualung). She will return to LA on Tuesday, May 22, for a headline show at Bootleg Bar. Album pre-order and US tour dates will be announced shortly. Watch the official video for the track "Lost & Found" here.

Sun Midnight Sun, the second solo album from acclaimed singer, songwriter, and fiddle player Sara Watkins, is out today in North America, with a worldwide release on May 28. USA Today describes Sun Midnight Sun as "flawless" and gives the album four stars, "a gorgeous pop masterpiece with a string-player's sensibility ... pure musical pleasure." Watkins will celebrate the release of the album with a performance on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on Thursday and resumes her tour later this month.

Shawn Colvin, whose new album, All Fall Down, is due out June 5, will preview tracks from the album at NYC’s City Winery on June 4. The show will be broadcast live on New York's WFUV, 90.7 FM, streaming live at wfuv.org. A consummate, natural and engaging performer, Colvin has a run of live shows leading up to and following the album’s release, including headlining shows, duo dates with Mary Chapin Carpenter, and shows as very special guest of Chris Isaak. Fans can expect to hear much loved favorites as well as songs from the new album. 

For the first time since his 1980 release 80/81, Pat Metheny has recorded with a band that features tenor saxophone. Unity Band, due out June 12, introduces a new Metheny ensemble with Chris Potter on sax and bass clarinet, longtime collaborator Antonio Sanchez on drums, and the up-and-coming Ben Williams on bass. The album features nine new Metheny compositions. The Pat Metheny Unity Band will tour the US this summer and fall, with stops in 39 cities. Pre-orders of Unity Band are available now in the Nonesuch Store with a signed print and an instant download of the opening track, “New Year.”

To mark the May 15 release of his Nonesuch label debut, pianist Jeremy Denk will make his first appearance at (Le) Poisson Rouge, taking over the downtown NYC venue for a one-night-only Ligeti/Beethoven celebration on Monday, May 21. The concert program comprises Book 1 of Ligeti’s Piano Études and Beethoven’s Sonata No. 32 in C Minor, Op. 111. (The new album adds selections from Ligeti’s Piano Études, Book 2). Other spring tour highlights include concerts in DC, Chicago, and San Francisco.

Happy Record Store Day! Nonesuch Records has made a series of special releases available today in honor of the fifth annual Record Store Day, a celebration of the unique culture surrounding over 700 independently owned record stores in the USA and hundreds of similar stores internationally. Among the artists releasing albums and singles today are The Black Keys, Dr. John, Billy Bragg & Wilco, Sara Watkins, and Carolina Chocolate Drops. A limited quantity of each Record Store Day title is also available on the Nonesuch Store now.

Amadou & Mariam's new album, Folila, is out now in the US. The album epitomizes the duo's embrace of collaboration, with contributions by Santigold, TV on the Radio, Theophilus London, and others. Folila may be "this duo’s most enjoyable disc yet," says the AP. Newsweek calls them "Magic, indeed." The Philadelphia Inquirer says the duo is "adding new elements to a richly varied approach that has served them well for years." The Christian Science Monitor raves: "From start to finish, Folila can barely contain the joy." Watch an acoustic performance of two album tracks here, via The Fader.

On June 5, Nonesuch Records will release the new Shawn Colvin album, All Fall Down. A collection of 11 songs—eight written or co-written by Colvin—All Fall Down is her eighth studio album and the first to be produced by her longtime friend and cohort Buddy Miller (Robert Plant, Solomon Burke). Recorded in Nashville, All Fall Down features performances by Alison Krauss, Emmylou Harris, Jakob Dylan, Bill Frisell, Viktor Krauss, Brian Blade, Stuart Duncan, and Julie Miller, among others. The release of All Fall Down comes on the same date as William Morrow/HarperCollins publishes her memoir, Diamond in the Rough.

Dr. John's new album, Locked Down, is out now on CD and digitally, with the vinyl to follow on April 21, and is streaming in full all week at MSN Music. Dr. John and producer Dan Auerbach perform on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon tonight. They spoke to NPR's Morning Edition about the album's more personal side. The LA Times gives Locked Down a perfect four stars: "As Bob Dylan did with Time Out of Mind and Tom Waits did last year with Bad as Me, Dr. John does here ... creating something magical, the embodiment of everything he’s done but pushed in a clear new direction." The Seattle Times calls it "stunning." The Boston Globe says: "It's Dr. John in full splendor." The Independent on Sunday, Observer, and Financial Times all give it four stars. The Sunday Times calls it a "tour de force."

Sun Midnight Sun, the second solo album from acclaimed singer, songwriter, and fiddle player Sara Watkins, will be released May 8 on Nonesuch Records. Produced by guitarist, singer, and songwriter Blake Mills, co-founder of the band Simon Dawes, the album features special guest appearances by Fiona Apple, Jackson Browne, Taylor Goldsmith (Dawes), Benmont Tench, and Sean Watkins. The album is available to pre-order on in the Nonesuch Store with an exclusive print signed by Watkins. In celebration of the album's release, Watkins will embark on a nationwide tour this spring and summer, including a series of special tour dates with Dawes.